Chapter 761: One-Man Show (13)

Boom!!

Coiled in the center of the ancient city square, Pyeonram’s form awakened from a deep slumber.

With just a blink of its eyelids and a shift of its body, earthquake-like tremors swept through the ground.

Lennok looked down at the violently shaking city beneath his feet, lost in thought.

‘The possibility of this being its true self is low. But this presence…’

The Ascendant, Pyeonram. The serpent guarding the Well of the Codex.

However, Lennok, who remembered the incident at the Well of the Codex, knew that Pyeonram’s true body couldn’t possibly be here now.

Right after Kebaek was ejected into the Outer Sea, didn’t Croken Asylus himself confront Pyeonram and resolve the situation?

Having wielded such power immediately upon waking but still failing to protect the Well of the Codex, even an Ascendant would be unable to move for a while.

Even if it had now decided to re-enter the mortal world, there would be no reason for it to hide within the consciousness of a Guardian Spirit Beast.

Crucially, if it had concealed itself within a Domain, Lennok would surely have noticed.

In other words, the colossal serpent form stirring before him was not Pyeonram itself.

Yet, the mighty reverberation that shook the entire Consciousness Space made him realize just how formidable a Transcendent he was facing.

[It has been a long time since a human sought me out without mastering sorcery.]

The serpent slowly flicked its tongue, whispering.

[Then tell me directly, from which wave of memory did we face each other?]

“……”

A wave of memory.

A message implying that this Consciousness Space itself was a fragmented piece of Pyeonram’s memory.

Perhaps even its surprisingly mild and tranquil disposition for one just awakened from slumber was an aspect existing within Pyeonram’s memory.

However, Lennok was more focused on finding a way to resolve the immediate situation.

‘I’m not sure where to start…’

Pyeonram was a Transcendent born as a serpent, who mastered sorcery and gained the right to challenge Ascension.

But it was a monster trapped by its duty to guard the Well of the Codex, suffering from severe oblivion.

When Lennok sought the Well of the Codex under the alias of Victor, the awakened Pyeonram was in such a poor state that it couldn’t even distinguish its sense of time.

So, how much did the memory of Pyeonram encountered here grasp of those past events?

If he spoke carelessly and left room for error, the Ascendant’s keen intellect would immediately sense the incongruity.

“This is where I arrived, riding on the unconsciousness of the Guardian Spirit Beast born from my Domain.”

Therefore, instead of mentioning its duty, Lennok immediately brought up the main reason for his visit.

“Why is your consciousness connected to this place?”

Though it was impolite given the Ascendant’s status, the Pyeonram Lennok remembered was not one to care about such things.

As Pyeonram was inherently distinct from humans, it wouldn’t react to minor speech patterns.

[……]

Instead of answering, Pyeonram quietly looked down at Lennok.

Staring intently at him with emotionless reptilian pupils, Pyeonram spoke softly.

[Wizard, you seem to be a rather peculiar spellcaster. An ordinary mortal would find it overwhelming to face me here more than in reality.]

“……”

[It means you are either mad enough not to distinguish up from down, or you possess an ego vast enough to withstand it.]

Was it perhaps more interested in the solidity of Lennok’s consciousness than in the question he posed?

It wasn’t incomprehensible.

The pressure exerted by the Ascendant’s stirring presence, weighing down everything around them, was somewhat burdensome even for Lennok.

If it was to this extent for Lennok, who perfectly maintained his mind in any situation…

It was evidence that this entire Consciousness Space constantly fluctuated and trembled according to the Ascendant’s will.

If Lennok’s presence, completely unshaken on the other side, seemed peculiar, it was not strange.

Just as Claris Richellen did, those who had lived long and were not human seemed to want to see something different in Lennok.

[There were others who came to me for the same reason as you, long ago.]

Pyeonram slowly closed its eyes and mumbled.

[Perhaps it’s because I was born as a Hweryong, shed the Curse of Transformation, and bore an ancient duty.]

“……”

Hweryong. If one were to specifically define Pyeonram’s origin, would that be the word used?

While Lennok was lost in thought, Pyeonram spoke casually.

[Your Guardian Spirit Beast is destined to perish soon, so don’t grow too attached.]

“…What?”

[The fact that its consciousness is connected to mine must be because the essence of your spirit beast is somewhat similar to my own.]

Pyeonram’s eyes glowed calmly.

[Indeed, the future of all life forms eventually converges into a grand flow; that is the rule. Since I exist at its apex, your spirit beast will also become like that.]

“……”

Though startled by the topic’s unexpectedness, Lennok immediately understood what the serpent was implying.

That because the essence of the Guardian Spirit Beast was similar to Pyeonram, the spirit beast itself was destined to become one with Pyeonram and perish?

It was an absurd statement, but Lennok, paradoxically, was convinced it wasn’t a lie.

Otherwise, there would be no way to explain this situation, where he delved into the unconsciousness of the Guardian Spirit Beast and reached Pyeonram’s subconscious.

The Guardian Spirit Beast and the Ascendant Pyeonram. The fundamental similarity between the two spirit beasts.

That was precisely why Lennok was standing here now.

“…Why did this happen? Do you know the reason your essence and the Guardian Spirit Beast are connected?”

[The fundamental cause lies not in its birth, but in its origin.]

Pyeonram surprisingly answered Lennok’s question readily.

Was it because it understood how Lennok came to find it here?

It was possible that Pyeonram’s mind, adrift in the distant past, was reliving ancient memories.

[When the origin of a spirit beast is based on excessively powerful will and laws, its soul’s grade becomes too high when exposed to the material world.]

“……”

[An origin exposed defenselessly right after birth is bound to be devoured and disappear by me. It will happen according to the logic of predation.]

Pyeonram stared intently at Lennok and said.

[To define it in human terms, one could say it’s because its master was excessively superior.]

“That’s…”

Lennok started to say something, then gave up.

He couldn’t deny how powerful the origin of the Guardian Spirit Beast, born from the Ouroboros magic system, would be.

Instead, Pyeonram’s casual remarks, despite not knowing the full story, accurately pinpointed the cause of the situation.

Lennok sighed softly and slowly averted his gaze.

“I understand what happened. I’ll take care of the rest.”

[……]

Though he had many questions, Lennok knew there was no need to provoke the Ascendant here.

Even if he asked about Ascension, the world’s secrets, or the ending, Pyeonram, bound by the curse of oblivion, wouldn’t properly remember.

Instead, provoking her with questions might even make her recall the time at the Well of the Codex.

Though it currently seemed uninterested in who Lennok was, it might somehow notice the connection between Lennok and Victor.

In a Consciousness Space where the logic of spells doesn’t function normally, it was better to be cautious.

Just as Lennok thought this, planning to simply ask about the Guardian Spirit Beast and turn away.

[You do not resent me.]

Pyeonram, looking down at Lennok with an air of curiosity, asked.

[There is no agitation or wavering in your consciousness. This is peculiar.]

“Resentment? Why would you think I’d resent you?”

[Because all those who came to me before did. But you are different. The reaction revealed by your surface consciousness, if I were to classify it, is…]

The serpent smiled an empty, amused smile.

[It is closer to expecting nothing from me. You accurately perceive my essence.]

“……”

[Have you perhaps met me before?]

Did it reach that conclusion instantly, just by reading Lennok’s consciousness as reflected in this Consciousness Space?

At the trace of such absurd intuition and intellect, Lennok gave a wry smile and shook his head.

It would be difficult to deny it further here, but there was no need to tell the whole truth.

“I met someone who was you, yet not you. Though I doubt you remember.”

[…I see. So it was a story from a time I cannot experience now.]

Pyeonram’s eyelids twitched, as if it immediately understood what he meant.

[That was a meaningless exchange. But you, too, should not waste time on meaningless things.]

“What do you mean?”

[From the perspective of a species, life is merely a stepping stone to the next generation. Humans or spirit beasts, it’s no different.]

Pyeonram said that, and slowly twisted its head.

Rumble, rumble…!!

Just that caused the entire square to reverberate loudly, creating a shaking illusion.

A powerful vibration capable of making space tremble with its will, even within the Consciousness Space.

[Life is a container holding genetic information, and nature designs the world only for species in their reproductive prime. Saving a newly born spirit beast holds little value.]

Said the Ascendant, who had gained the right to transcend worlds.

[If you can maintain an unshaken ego even when facing me, you must be a very powerful spellcaster among humans. Only the nobles of Ars Nova or the long-lived species of Kundara could compare to your existence.]

“……”

[If you have surpassed the limits of your species, do not waste time for that which has not yet been born. There are already far too many conclusions you must face in this world.]

Knowing that the Guardian Spirit Beast’s life was in danger because its origin stemmed from Lennok, was it telling him not to waste time precisely for that reason?

The perspective of a Transcendent who judges life by counting it as numbers, from an extremely macroscopic viewpoint.

It was a calm and composed piece of advice, yet it was a perspective that instinctively evoked repulsion in fellow living beings.

“I think I understand why others resented you.”

Lennok chuckled, turning his gaze away.

“But didn’t you, too, love the past you called meaningless? It can’t be a coincidence that the Ascendant’s consciousness is slumbering within such memories.”

[……]

Pyeonram, too, was not a predator or a great Ascendant from the moment it was born.

From being born a mere serpent to gaining intellect, mastering sorcery, transcending Hierarchy, and challenging Ascension…

All the time it had lived couldn’t have been so heartless and macroscopic a destiny.

Wasn’t that why it had suffered so much from the oblivion that came with continuing its duty?

Had its memories, as a Transcendent, been stirred by the accurate pinpointing of its past?

[…Yes. But that is why I can only offer this advice.]

For the first time, it felt as if a clear focus returned to the serpent’s eyes.

[Those who seek my help do not need to make the same mistakes I did.]

“…Thank you for answering my questions. I will resolve the issue with the Guardian Spirit Beast myself.”

Lennok, who had been silent, then fully turned away.

“Though it’s a lazy and gluttonous spirit beast that hasn’t even emerged from its egg yet, that’s no reason for it to die as soon as it’s born.”

He understood that the Guardian Spirit Beast’s consciousness would be devoured by Pyeonram and disappear if things continued, but Lennok had no intention of asking Pyeonram for anything.

Pyeonram, Padme Kiesa, is not an Ascendant benevolent towards humans like the previous Lighthouse Keeper or Jindun.

What she loved was merely the time and traces shared during her mortal existence.

If one were to be precise, she loved the irreversible past memories and those moments.

Her answers to Lennok’s questions here were merely fragments of Pyeonram’s memories.

Unless there was a way to persuade Pyeonram, or to fight and kill it, Lennok had no choice but to find another way himself.

Besides, the time he could withstand in the Consciousness Space was almost up.

Even if Lennok could endure indefinitely, the Guardian Spirit Beast’s consciousness would not.

He had to return to reality soon, before the spirit beast fully awoke from its slumber.

Just as Lennok thought this, about to exit the Consciousness Space, Pyeonram flicked its tongue.

[…If it has not emerged from its egg despite already being born, then there might be a glimmer of hope.]

“Hope?”

[If it gained intellect but did not break its shell, it would be evidence of possessing exceptional spirituality, enough to protect its own origin.]

“……”

So, its failure to emerge from the egg long after its birth was to avoid being devoured by Pyeonram’s consciousness?

As Lennok fell silent, having discovered an unforeseen possibility in what he had thought was mere laziness.

[If it sheds the Curse of Transformation and matures sufficiently, it might be able to transcend the confines of its species based on its own spirituality.]

“That’s…”

[There is a city on this continent that observes and endures the flow of all curses.]

Pyeonram’s breathing gradually slowed, then it fully closed its eyes and rested its head.

The colossal serpent’s movements eventually ceased entirely, and only a faint trace of its voice whispered quietly on the wind.

[If you wish for it not to end as mere shed skin, you must find a way there.]

“……”

Does that mean to escape Pyeonram’s influence, it must become something other than a Hweryong?

But instead of asking further questions, Lennok quietly gazed at Pyeonram’s massive body, now sunken into slumber.

Because its last words seemed to indirectly hint at Pyeonram’s own situation.

Perhaps it felt the lost memories of its past like irretrievable shed skin.

It was also possible that its answers about the Guardian Spirit Beast were because it saw someone from its memories reflected.

Lennok, who had opened his mouth to say something while watching Pyeonram sleep, then shook his head and immediately turned away.

He exited, following the quiet, wind-blown square.

Whoosh!!

In the distance, the wilderness slowly closed in, and illusions of the Consciousness Space shattering washed over him.

Lennok, without hesitation, pulled his surfacing consciousness upward and immediately returned to reality.

Click!

A sound like a camera lens retracting, accompanied by the sensation of his brain circuits switching.

Davi, perched on his head, asked as Lennok slowly opened his eyes.

[Master, was there any progress?]

“Hmm…”

The Curse of Transformation. He knew why Pyeonram mentioned that phrase.

The Military City of Yorta, which observes all curses on this continent.

The city of military spirits who guide lost souls from the memorial towers where the Hundred Demons’ Night Parade continues.

It seemed he now had one more reason to visit that place, said to straddle the material and spiritual realms.

Lennok, deep in thought, slowly took his hand off the eggshell and spoke.

“I think it’s time to prepare to leave. I’ve stayed in Vulcan too long.”